TORONTO '99: Discovering the Two Faces of Toronto

Sitting in my hotel room watching Rogers Television‘s 24-hour film festivalcoverage over the weekend, I was reminded that the Toronto InternationalFilm Festival is actually two festivals in one. There is the event wecover in indieWIRE, comprised of industry screenings, debut work fromemerging filmmakers and premieres of new films by established directors.Then again there is the glitzier side, full of red carpet galas,star-studded parties and celeb-packed press conferences catering to thethrongs of international media in attendance. Thousands of Toronto localsgravitate to both events, grabbing autographs and attending gala showingsand also jamming screenings of smaller, edgier movies. This local audienceattendance is what makes Toronto unique among North America’s premiere filmevents, and part of what makes it one of the most important festivals (along with Cannes) in the world.

The two festivals converged on the corner of Bloor St. and Avenue Road atthe new Park Hyatt Hotel headquarters, ground zero for the Rogers IndustryCenter, press office, festival office, video library, publicity and studiosuites, and daily press conferences and seminars. Nearly 700 sales agents,an even greater number of journalists, festival programmers from around theworld, and representatives from every major and minor distributor gatheredin Toronto for the 24th installment of this world-class film festival.

The inclination is to compare Toronto to Sundance, and in fact, a number ofpeople have asked me to rank the two events. Of course it is an unfaircomparison. While both are prominent forums for discovering new work,Toronto has established itself as the premiere North American venue forbuying and selling those movies. Organizers embrace sellers anddistributors from around the world by offering industry/press screenings onmultiple high-quality screens each day of the event to accommodate bizactivity.

Word from IndieWood is that business was slow this year, but a handful ofcompanies did some buying. While IndieWood distributors used the Festivalas an opportunity to launch fall films in front of the international pressand large local crowds, Fine Line did nab rights to three movies — JohnPodeswa’s “Five Senses,” Frederic Fonteyne’s “Une Liaison Pornographique“(A Pornographic Affair), and Jamie Babbit’s “But I’m A Cheerleader.”Meanwhile, Sony Classics closed a deal on Regis Wargnier’s “Est-Ouest“(East-West), Miramax flexed its acquisitions muscles by buying JustinKerrigan’s “Human Traffic,” USA Films bought Karin Julsrud’s “BloodyAngels,” and Strand found Ventura Pons’ “Beloved/Friend.” Alongside thetrade newsworthy deals, numerous other buyers and sellers madeinternational deals throughout the event.

As a venue for discovering new filmmakers and new films from theoff-Hollywood establishment, Toronto was a goldmine. Look no further thanthe acclaimed Discovery section for proof. Kevin Jordan’s award-winning“Goat on Fire and Smiling Fish,” Justin Kerrigan’s “Human Traffic,” JamieBabbit’s “But I’m a Cheerleader,” Im Sang-Soo’s “Girl’s Night Out,” LaneJanger’s “Just One Time,” and Tom Gilroy’s “Spring Forward” were amongthose in the section that garnered the most attention. In terms ofpersonal choice, “Traffic” and “Forward,” which I watched at publicscreening’s on the first Saturday of the festival, were the clear standoutsin the section, while Kimberly Peirce’s stunning “Boys Don’t Cry” was anadditional fantastic feature debut, screening in the Contemporary WorldCinema section. World and North American premieres dominated numerous othersections of the festival, offering peaks at the latest from establishedfilmmakers such as Jim Jarmusch (“Ghost Dog“), Kevin Smith (“Dogma“),Takeshi Kitano (“Kikujiro“), Errol Morris (“Mr. Death: The Rise and Fall ofFred A. Leuchter, Jr.“), Agnieszka Holland (“The Third Miracle“), MichaelWinterbottom (“Wonderland“), Allan Moyle (“New Waterford Girl“), JamesHerbert (“Speedy Boys“), and Gregg Araki “Splendor“).

The big-time glamorous side of the Festival seemed to happen successfully.While we at indieWIRE didn’t really move in those circles, if mediacoverage is any indication, the Galas were indeed popular. In fact, a CBCarticle last week offered that they might be a little too popular.“Organizers worry that stars are outshining the Toronto International FilmFestival” read the headline, as Festival Managing Director Michelle Maheuxtold the CBC, “I think the media gets caught up in the star factor. I thinkthey lose sight of the fact that there are really talented directors comingfrom all corners of the globe who are making incredibly good films thatneed to be spoken to, so it’s a harder slog for us to get that word outwhen we’re being eclipsed by the star machine.” That may indeed be thecase, since as with Festivals such as Cannes and Sundance, the mainstreammedia tend to focus only on the star-studded galas and parties, coveringthe breakthrough movies only after they reach critical mass in themoviegoing marketplace — witness “The Blair Witch Project” which was notrecognized as a Sundance breakthrough until months after it debuted at theFestival.

Ten days in Toronto and another notch on our Festival belt as we dive intothe IFFM and gear up for the New York Film Festival. As always.Stay tuned…